The present invention relates to a bank-note processing device used for e.g. a vending machine, a money changing machine, a pachinko ball dispenser and a metal token dispenser.
In a main unit of dispensers handling bank-notes (including coupons), a bank-note processing device for judging the genuineness of an inserted bank-note and for storing only bank-notes regarded as genuine is normally equipped.
FIG. 20 is a conceptual cross-sectional side view of a major portion of a conventional bank-note processing device 1.
This bank-note processing device 1 comprises a main body 2, and a stacker 37 which is disposed on the rear face 2a of the main body 2.
In the main body 2, an L-shaped bank-note transfer passage 4 connected to a bank-note slot 3, bank-note transporting means 11 for guiding a bank-note inserted from the bank-note slit 3 to the bank-note transfer passage 4, shutter means 18 for opening/closing the bank-note transfer passage 4, bank-note identification means 19 comprised of a magnetic head which judges the genuineness of the bank-note transported by the bank-note transporting means 11 after which the bank-note is passed through the shutter means 18, bank-note shifting means 20 for shifting the bank-notes judged as genuine by the bank-note identification means 19 to the stacker 37 side one by one, and a bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever 30 for preventing the bank-notes stored in the stacker 37 by the bank-note shifting means 20 sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage 4, are disposed.
The L-shaped bank-note transfer passage 4 is comprised of a horizontal portion 4a which further comprises top and bottom chutes 5 and 6, and a vertical portion 4b which further comprises chutes 7 and 8, where the entire bottom chute 6 area of the horizontal portion 4a and upstream of the bottom chute 8 of the vertical portion 4b are integrated by a roughly L-shaped box 9, as disclosed in the description of Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-141350 which the present applicant proposed in the past. The box 9 is removably attached to the main body 2 in the arrow A direction as the dash and dotted lines in FIG. 21 show, via the slide support means, which is not illustrated, formed on both side faces of the box 9 and on both sides of the inner surface of the main body 2, which is for example, guide grooves and guide protrusions to be guided into the guide grooves. FIG. 21 is a conceptual plan view of a major portion depicting the operation of the conventional bank-note processing device, where the identical parts as FIG. 20 are denoted by the same numerals.
The bank-note transporting means 11 is comprised of a looped bank-note transporting belt 12, which is stretched along the horizontal portion 4a and the vertical portion 4b of the bank-note transfer passage 4, and belt driving means 17, which is further comprised of pulleys 13, 14, 15 and 16 for driving and rotating the bank-note transporting belt 12, as shown in FIG. 20.
The bank-note shifting means 20 is disposed on both sides of the main body 2 shown in FIG. 20 in the longitudinal direction, and is comprised of a pair of bank-note guide drums 21 which are supported so as to rotate in one direction with the top and bottom ends as shafts, as disclosed in the description of Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 5-276592, which the present applicant proposed in the past. On the cylindrical surface of the bank-note guide drum 21, a slit 22 for inserting the edge of a bank-note in the width direction is formed along the bank-note transfer passage 4, and this slit 22 is positioned to match the bank-note transfer passage 4 at the initial position, as shown in FIG. 22, which is a conceptual cross-sectional view of a major portion of the bank-note processing device. For details on the bank-note shifting means 20, refer to the description in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 5-276592.
The bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever 30 is disposed between the pair of bank-note guide drums 21, and is comprised of an L-shaped lever 25 which is rotatably supported with the shaft 26 as a center, and the lever 25 further comprises a long shaft 25a which is set to be a length shorter than the outer diameter 21a of the bank-note guide drums 21, and a short shaft 25b connected to urging means 28, which is further comprised of a spring 27 supported by a spring support section 31 disposed on the main body 2.
In the case of the long shaft 25a, the front end area 25c can freely come out of the hole 29 formed in the main body 2 toward the bank-note guide drum 21, and force is always exerted on the front end 25e toward the bank-note transfer passage 4 side by the urging means 28. For the short shaft 25b, a stop 32, for controlling the lever not to rotate for more than a predetermined angle toward the bank-note transfer passage 4 side, is formed at the front end 25d. 
According to such a bank-note processing device 1, when a bank-note 101 (FIG. 22) is inserted into the bank-note slot 3, as shown in FIG. 20, the presence of the bank-note 101 is detected by the bank-note detection sensor, and the inserted bank-note 101 is horizontally transported to the right direction in the drawing along the horizontal portion 4a of the bank-note transfer passage 4 by the transporting force of the bank-note transporting belt 12 which rotates counterclockwise, that is normal rotation, based on the detection signal. At the same time, the shutter means 18 (FIG. 20) is driven, by which the shutter is moved to the left direction in the drawing and the vertical portion 4b of the bank-note transfer passage 4 is opened.
When the inserted bank-note 101 is horizontally transported to the right direction in the drawing along the horizontal portion 4a of the bank-note transfer passage 4 by the normal rotation of the bank-note transporting belt 12, and is then transported upward at roughly a 90 degree angle along the vertical portion 4b of the bank-note transfer passage 4, the genuineness of the inserted bank-note 101 is judged by the bank-note identification means 19 disposed at the vertical portion 4b of the bank-note transfer passage 4.
If the bank-note identification means 19 judges the inserted bank-note 101 as counterfeit, the bank-note transporting belt 12 rotates in reverse (clockwise rotation), so as to return the inserted bank-note 101 through the bank-note slot 3.
If the bank-note identification means 19 judges the inserted bank-note 101 as genuine, the bank-note transporting belt 12 continues normal rotation based on the detection signal, so as to transport the inserted bank-note 101 downstream of the bank-note transfer passage 4.
When the front end 101a of the inserted bank-note 101 is inserted into the bottom ends 22a of the slits 22 of the bank-note guide drums 21, the inserted bank-note 101 is caught between the edge of the slits of the bank-note guide drums 21 and the bank-note transporting belt 12 (FIG. 20), therefore the inserted bank-note 101 is transported to the arrow B direction in FIG. 22 along the slits 22 by the transporting force of the bank-note transporting belt 12.
When a sensor, not illustrated, detects that the bottom end 101b of the bank-note 101 has reached a predetermined position in the slits 22 of the bank-note guide drums 21, as shown in FIG. 23 where the identical parts as FIG. 22 are denoted by the same numerals, normal rotation of the bank-note transporting belt 12 (FIG. 20) stops and the bank-note guide drums 21 rotate in directions opposite from each other at a same phase, by which the bank-note 101 inserted in the slits 22 parallel shifts to the stacker 37 side, as the arrow C in FIG. 23 shows.
When the bank-note 101 parallel shifts to the stacker 37 side by the rotation of the bank-note guide drums 21, the bottom end 101b of the bank-note 101, which has a normal longitudinal dimension, contacts the long shaft 25a of the lever 25 and rotates the lever 25 with the shaft 26 as the center, as shown in FIG. 24, where the identical parts as FIG. 22 are denoted by the same numerals, therefore the lever 25 gradually moves into the hole 29, and the bank-note 101 parallel shifts to the stacker 37 side by the rotation of the bank-note guide drums 21.
When the bank-note 101 parallel shifts to the stacker 37 side by the rotation of the bank-note guide drums 21 and reaches the stacker 37, that is, when the slit 22 where the bank-note 101 is inserted, reaches the outer diameter 21a of the bank-note guide drums 21 by the rotation of the bank-note guide drums 21, the bank-note 101 is caught between the stacker plate, which is not illustrated, and the external surface of the bank-note guide drums 21 via the stack spring, which is not illustrated, and at the same time, the bank-note 101 is pushed by the chute 34 (FIG. 28), which constitutes the bank-note transfer passage 4 and shifts toward the stacker 37 side according to the rotation of the bank-note guide drums 21, and as a result, the bank-note 101 is released from the slits 22, and is stored in the stacker 37 without fail.
Since the length of the long shaft 25a of the lever 25 is set to be shorter than the outer diameter 21a of the bank-note guide drums 21, the bottom end 101b of the bank-note 101 leaves from the front end 25e of the long shaft 25b before the slit 22, where the bank-note 101 is inserted, reaches the outer diameter 21a of the bank-note guide drums 21 by the rotation of the bank-note guide drums 21, and the lever 25 returns to the initial position by the exerting force of the urging means 28, as shown in FIG. 25, where identical parts as FIG. 22 are denoted by the same numerals.
As a consequence, the inserted bank-note 101 is stacked and stored in the stacker 37 and the bottom end 101b engages with the bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever 30, as shown in FIG. 26, where the identical parts as FIG. 22 are denoted by the same numerals, and this prevents the bank-note 101 stored in the stacker 37 from sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage 4 blocking transporting of the bank-note to be stored next.
Also in the conventional bank-note processing device 1, the stacker 37 is removably attached to the rear face 2a of the main body 2, as shown in FIG. 20, therefore the stacker 37 is separated from the main body 2 to collect the bank-notes stored in the stacker 37.
Also the box 9 of the bank-note processing device 1 is comprised of the entire bottom chute 6 area constituting the horizontal portion 4a of the bank-note transfer passage 4 and upstream of the bottom chute 8 constituting the vertical portion 4b, which are integrated, and is removably attached to the main body 2 in the arrow A direction via the above mentioned slide support means as shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, so when a maintenance, inspection and cleaning of the bank-note transporting means 11, shutter means 18 or bank-note identification means 19 is performed, the operator slides the box 9 to the opposite side of the main body 2 via the above slide support means while holding the box 9 so as to separate the box 9 from the main body 2, after which maintenance, inspection and cleaning are performed.
According to the above mentioned conventional bank-note processing device 1, the length of the long shaft 25a of the lever 25 is set to be shorter than the outer diameter 21a of the bank-note guide drums 21, as shown in FIG. 25, however, the longitudinal dimension of the bank-notes vary, and if a bank-note whose longitudinal dimension is short is inserted and this bank-note is stored in the stacker 37, the bank-note 102 does not engage with the front end 25c of the bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever 30, and is pushed by other bank-notes already stored in the stacker 37 or by the stacker plate, not illustrated, and as a result, the roughly center part 102c in the width direction sticks out into the bank-note transfer passage 4, and the bank-note 102 once stored in the stacker 37 may interfere in transporting a bank-note to be stored next, as shown in FIG. 27 and in FIG. 28, which is a conceptual top view of FIG. 27.
In particular, since the bank-notes 102 stored in the stacker 37 tend to swell toward the bank-note transfer passage 4 side by air which enters into the center area 102c in the width direction, the above concern is more serious.
Also according to the above mentioned conventional bank-note processing device 1, the stacker 37 is removably attached to the main body 2 and stores the bank-note 101 transported from the main body 2 as shown in FIG. 20, therefore if the stacker 37 is separated from the main body 2 to collect the bank-notes stored in the stacker 37, the bank-notes 101 stored in the stacker 37 tend to drop through the opening of the stacker 37 which is formed directly toward the rear face 2a of the main body 2.
Also according to the above mentioned conventional bank-note processing device 1, the box 9 is comprised of the entire bottom chute 6 area constituting the horizontal portion 4a of the bank-note transfer passage 4 and upstream of the bottom chute 8 constituting the vertical portion 4b, which are integrated, and is removably attached to the main body 2 in the arrow A direction via the slide support means, as shown in FIG. 21. So in order to perform maintenance, inspection and cleaning of the bank-note transporting means 11 or the bank-note identification means 19, the operator slides the box 9 to the opposite side of the main body 2 via the slide support means while holding the box 9, and after separating the box 9 from the main body 2 in this way, maintenance, inspection and cleaning is performed.
This means that during maintenance, inspection and cleaning operation of the bank-note transporting means 11 or bank-note identification means 19, the box 9 must be held and maintenance, inspection and cleaning operation must be performed with one hand, which makes the operation troublesome.
With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bank-note processing device which can prevent a bank-note stored in the stacker from sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage and interfering in the processing of the bank-note to be transported next as much as possible.
It is a second object to provide a bank-note processing device which can prevent a bank-note stored in the stacker from sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage and interfering in the processing of the bank-note to be transported next as much as possible, and can prevent the drop of bank-notes stored in the stacker during bank-note collection as much as possible.
It is a third object to provide a bank-note processing device which simplifies the maintenance, inspection and cleaning of various equipment disposed on the bank-note transfer passage, and improves the work efficiency.
To achieve the first object, a first aspect of the present invention is a bank-note processing device comprising: bank-note transporting means for transporting a bank-note inserted from a bank-note slot along a bank-note transfer passage; bank-note shifting means having a pair of bank-note guide drums where slits for inserting both ends in the width direction of the bank-note transported by the bank-note transporting means along the longitudinal direction of the bank-note so as to shift the bank-note inserted in the slits to a stacker side by rotating the pair of bank-note guide drums in directions opposite from each other at a same phase; and a bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever which is disposed between the pair of bank-note guide drums for preventing the bank-note stored in the stacker from sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage, characterized in that the bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever further comprises: a first lever which is rotatably supported via a first shaft and is shorter than the outer diameter of the bank-note guide drums; a first urging means for constantly exerting force on the first lever toward the bank-note transfer passage side; a first stop for controlling the first lever not to rotate the first lever more than at a predetermined rotation angle toward the bank-note transfer passage side; a second lever which is rotatably supported at the front end of the first lever via a second shaft; a second stop for controlling the second lever not to rotate more than at a predetermined rotation angle toward the bank-note transfer passage side; and a second urging means for constantly exerting force on the second lever toward the bank-note transfer passage side.
To achieve the second object, a second aspect of the present invention is a bank-note processing device comprising: a main body comprised of a bank-note transporting means for transporting a bank-note inserted from a bank-note slot along a bank-note transfer passage, and bank-note shifting means having a pair of bank-note guide drums where slits for inserting both ends in the width direction of the bank-note transported by the bank-note transporting means along the longitudinal direction of the bank-note so as to shift the bank-note inserted in the slots to the rear face by rotating the pair of bank-note guide drums in directions opposite from each other at a same phase; a stacker which is removably attached to the rear face of the main body so as to store the bank-notes inside via the bank-note shifting means; and a bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever which is disposed between the pair of bank-note guide drums for preventing the bank-note stored in the stacker from sticking out into the bank-note transfer passage when the stacker is attached to the main body, characterized in that the bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever is disposed in the stacker, so that when the stacker is separated from the main body, the bank-note reverse-flowing preventive lever prevents the bank-note stored in the stacker from dropping out of the stacker.
To achieve the third object, a third aspect of the present invention is a bank-note processing device comprising: a main body comprised of bank-note transporting means for guiding a bank-note inserted from a bank-note slot to a bank-note transfer passage, and bank-note identification means for judging the genuineness of the bank-note passes through the bank-note transporting means; and a box which constitutes a part of the bank-note transfer passage and is removably attached to the main body via attachment/removal means, characterized in that the attachment/removal means further comprises: a guide groove which is formed on both sides of the inner surface of the main body; a guide protrusion which is formed on both side faces of the box and is guided into the guide groove; a guide protrusion escape hole which is formed just before the end of the guide groove directed to the upper part of the guide groove; and a guide protrusion support hole, which is formed on both side faces of the main body and at the end of the guide groove, where the box is slidably attached to the main body when the guide protrusions are inserted into the guide grooves via the guide protrusion escape holes, and is rotatably supported from the main body when the guide protrusions are inserted in the guide protrusion support holes, so that the box can be separated from the main body by escaping the guide protrusions from the guide grooves via the protrusion escape holes.